warriorsfanficfandomcom-20200213-history
Epidemic
Prolouge Graybreeze sighed and grabbed half of a rabbit sitting on the fresh-kill pile. There wasn't much, but Aquastar was getting weaker each day, and needed as much food as she could get. She dragged the scrawny amount of food to her sister's den and shoved her way inside, grunting as bracken clawed her pelt. "Aquastar," She called softly, dropping the prey. "I brought you some rabbit." Her sister didn't stir from her nest. Graybreeze crept forward; most days her sister didn't wake, refused to eat because she thought she was taking too much prey. She was very depressed nowadays. Graybreeze poked her sister gently with one paw. Her brow furrowed in confusion, and she put her muzzle close to Aquastar's. After a moment, she jerked away with a gasp. She raced out into the clearing, abandoning the prey. "Aquastar is dead!" Graybreeze declared in a screech as she finally caught the Clan's attention. The clearing was silent with grief. A black and white tom - Aquastar's mate, Blackriver - nodded somberly and disappeared in his den. The Clan broke apart, a single tabby kit wailing pitifully as a white queen ushered her away. Oh, Lilypaw, Graybreeze thought, looking to the den where her sisters' body lay. When will you come back with that cure? Chapter One Lilypaw stared up at the trees in awe. Like all her Clanmates, she'd always made fun of ThunderClan for living under the confinement of the trees instead of out in the open air. But now, she could see why they loved it so much. All the slender brown braches touched, making a screen of emerald leaves, but still letting sunshine through. The light that dappled the ground was a pretty golden-green, and the ground, covered in a thick layer of leaf-rot, was alive with tiny creatures, mosses, plants, and flowers. Lilypaw heard a squeak and looked down to see a mouse racing for the cover of a hole. She lifted one paw lazily and scooped the tiny creature up, tossing it in the air and snapping its neck on the way down. She was buzzing with energy, hardly weighed down by the force of Crash's death anymore, and decided to hunt to burn off all the extra energy. By sundown, Lilypaw had caught enough fresh-kill for her to feast, including a small but plump rabbit. She ate half of her stash - a mouse, half of her rabbit, and a thrush - and stored the rest in the shell of a fallen log. She found a small pool near the log, and although she wasn't RiverClan and had always made faces at the thought of swimming, she slipped into the cool water and paddled around until she was waterlogged. Pulling herself out of the water and stretching out on a large rock, Lilypaw let her thick gray pelt - darkened by the water - air dry in the last dark rays of the setting sun. When it was dark and her pelt was dry, Lilypaw covered the fresh-kill with leaves to hide it from any passing by predators. Lilypaw curled up in the moss at the other end of the log, belly warm and full, and mind about to burst with ideas about the task ahead. Chapter Two Lilypaw woke to the sound of many cat voices talking at once. She cracked open her eyes, struggling to her paws and instinctivly standing protectively in front of her fresh-kill. Around her, maybe a dozen cats were milling about around the pool. Two kits were splashing eachother in the shallows, and a small group of bigger toms were paddling around in the center. "Hi!" A small tortoiseshell bounced up and waved her tail in greeting. "I'm Twister. What's your name? I've never seen you around here before." Lilypaw found herself in the repeated process of introducing herself as she stated her name. "I'm not from around here. I...I'm just passing through. Why are all these cats here?" "Oh, we always come here in the morning," Twister informed. "We all live in these woods. This is the Meeting Pond, where we all join and share news. Mostly to tell eachother if there have been wolf sightings, but there aren't any this morning." Lilypaw didn't even try to make sense of that sentence; Twister had leaned towards her, a shocked look in her eyes, and sniffed her fur deeply, jaws parted. "What?" Lilypaw asked, taking a step back. "Your fur...you smell like...have you ever met a cat named Crash? Big, kinda boistorous, black fur?" Lilypaw gaped in surprise. She'd thought her swim would have washed off any lingering scent of Crash. "Y-Yes. I travelled with him in the Twolegplace. He...he was killed." Twister's eyes darkened. "His sister and brother are here," She murmured quietly. "They haven't seen him in moons. He left here for Twolegplace a few moons back when their sister Mattie was taken by Twolegs." Lilypaw's knees buckled as a fresh wave of grief washed over her. "I'll go get them," Twister murmured, sashaying off in a swish of multi-patched fur. She paused at two cats - a black-furred she-cat with blue eyes and a gray tom - and the three padded back to where Lilypaw was standing. "You saw my brother?" The she-cat demanded. Lilypaw, unable to speak, nodded. "And...he died?" Another nod. The tom sighed heavily. The she-cat's face twisted with pain. "My name is Violet. This is Crush. Our mother named my brothers that, don't make fun of them." Lilypaw wouldn't have ever dreamed of it, but she nodded once again. "So, Twister say your just passing through. Where you headed?" Lilypaw explained, yet again, that she was heading for the hills for the valley with the yellow flower. "I want to go there with you," Violet declares when she's finished. "Or, at least, escort you to the edge of the forest. I want to finish the job my brother started." Chapter Three Lilypaw and Violet trudged through the woods silently. They'd left the meeting place behind, and although Crush had begged Violet not to go - he'd said he couldn't lose his sister after losing Crash - but she'd been adamant about going. Now, they were trudging through the spindly tree trunks and various plants in content silence. "Violet?" Lilypaw broke the silence after a while, clambering over a fallen tree trunk. "Yeah?" The black she-cat was hanging from the wood by just her claws, scrabbling to get a hold. "Twister said something about...about wolves. What did she mean?" Violet had finally pushed herself to the top of the trunk next to Lilypaw. She sighed and the tip of her tail, dangling over the trunk, twitched. "Well, there are wolves in these woods. They stay in the heart of it mostly, so us cats try to stay to the edges, but so many cats have been killed by them I can't even count. Just the other day Sunshine lost her brother to that stupid black brute." Violet's shiny black fur was bristling. "And we'll be traveling right through the middle of the woods. Its inevitable, of course, and we could really be attacked anywhere." Lilypaw sighed heavily and dropped to the other side of the trunk. Wonderful, she thought as the two she-cats lapsed back into silence. I'm dragging Crash's helpless little sister into the middle of a wolf-infested forest. Violet's stomach growled. The black she-cat grimaced but didn't say anything. Lilypaw paused and sniffed the air, picking up the faint scent of squirrel. She stalked the bushy-tailed creature to a thick pine tree and pounced, bringing it down with ease. She dropped the fresh-kill at Violet's paws. "Don't pretend you aren't hungry. If you get weak and slow down, we're wolf-prey." Violet smiled and blinked gratefully, falling onto the squirrel with a pleased grunt. Lilypaw sat and watched Violet eat, ears swiveling to pick up and sounds. She wasn't hungry herself, still full from gourging herself last night. A twig cracked to Lilypaw's left. She stood, a growl rolling in her throat. Violet abandoned her fresh-kill and stood next to Lilypaw, her tail quivering with fear. A sleek, auburn she-wolf with two pups emerged into the clearing. The mother sat and her pups, one reddish-brown like her and one black, wrestled with eachother, squeaking loudly. The mother turned to the two cats and curled her lip, growling quietly. The two she-cats didn't need another warning. They turned tail and raced off into the forest. They didn't stop until they'd reached a thick oak tree and darted up the trunk to the safety of the high branches. Chapter Four The two she-cats were completely against going back down the ground in case the red-brown wolf was still lurking about. "The cats who live in this forest usually sleep in trees," Violet murmured, claws working against the wood of her thick branch. "That way any passing wolves can't get to you." Lilypaw sighed and hunkered down into a fork between two branches. Hunting forest prey and now sleeping in trees. I really am turning into a ThunderClan cat, aren't I? "Good night, Lily," Violet mumbled as she fell into sleep. "'Night," Lilypaw whispered back. * * * Lilypaw was startled awake at the sound of squeaking. She glanced below her, silently thanking StarClan she hadn't fallen out of the tree at night, and narrowed her eyes in confusion. Below her, nestled in the roots of the tree, was a slender tabby queen with two wriggling kits wrestling with eachother. Lilypaw reached out a paw and prodded Violet in the flank. Two sleepy blue eyes peered at her. Lilypaw motioned below to the queen and dropped out of the tree like a squirrel, landing silently and lightly on a tree root just behind the tabby. "Hello," Lilypaw said evenly, making the queen sqwuak with surprise and shoot to her paws. Her fur lay flat when she realised it was a cat, but her blue eyes were still guarded. "Who are you?" She asked quietly, trying to hide her kits from view. "I'm Lilypaw, and this is Violet," the gray she-cat introduced them as the black she-cat dropped next to her. "We're just passing through." "I'm Thyme," the ttabby meowed cautiously. "One of my kits was stolen by a fox last night. I'm sorry if I intruded, I just needed a place to stay the night." Violet glanced at Lilypaw, her dark blue eyes round with sympathy and a quetion clear in there depths: Can she come with us? Lilypaw sighed. She couldn't leave a defenseless queen and two kits out here. "Violet and I are heading for the far edge of the forest," She murmured. "Once there, I'm heading for the hills, but Violet is turning back. Would you like to come with us?" Thyme's eyes lit up. "Oh, may I?" She squealed. She bundled her kits in front of her. One was a slender tabby like her, the other was a speckled gray tom. "These are Seed, and Berry," She mewed quickly, tapping the tom and the she-cat on the head with her tail. "There sibling was Sage." Her light blue eyes darkened. Lilypaw sighed and pulled ahead as Violet and Thyme started chattering about the kits. This is going to be a long journey. Chapter Five Lilypaw dragged herself through the undergrowth, eyes fixed on the fat blackbird pecking away at a seed. She'd been hunting all day, but thanks to Violet and Thyme's constant yammering, and Seed and Berry's high-pitched squeaking, she'd brought down nothing but a pitiful shrew that had gone to the kits. She pounced, taking advantage of the momentary silence, and grabbed the bird's wing in her claws as it tried to take off. Lilypaw dragged it to the ground, biting its spine with enough force to make her teeth ache. She sat up, sighing, and pawed black feathers away from her nose. This would hardly be a mouthful for her, Thyme, and Violet. Just as Lilypaw was beginning to trace the scent of squirrel, she heard an agonized screech. Surprised, Lilypaw pelted back to where she'd left Thyme and Violet just in time to see a sleek gray tail disappear into the brambles. "It took Seed!" Thyme was wailing, clutching a terrified Berry to her flank. "That wolf took my baby!" Violet glanced at Lilypaw, her eyes asking, Should we go after it? Lilypaw shook her head. From the amount of blood spattered on the ferns, Seed wasn't going to make it even if they did rescue him. Lilypaw padded over to Thyme and gently nudged her to her paws. "It's okay, Thyme," She whispered. "You may have lost Sage, and then Seed, but you still have Berry, and she needs you." The tabby looked down at her daughter with liquid blue eyes and nodded. "I-I know. I just don't know why my kits keep being stolen. I've never done anything wrong." Her eyes were round with grief as she padded off, Berry squeaking at her paws. Violet and Lilypaw exchanged glances. They could comfort the queen with gentle words, but nothing could heal the pain of losing a child. Chapter Six Below her, Violet snoozed in a slender branch, ready to leap down on any wolves that tried to attack Thyme and Berry, who were nestled in the roots. Lilypaw wished she could roll over, but unless she wanted to suffer serious injury, she had to stay put. Violet and Thyme were seriously slowing her down. She used to be able to travel at a brisk pace, only stopping to hunt for herself once or twice a day. Now Lilypaw had to hang back and wait for Thyme to help Berry to her paws, or for Violet to yank the thorn out of her pad. Thyme never helped hunt, and it took longer for Lilypaw and Violet to scrape enough fresh-kill together for the four of them. Lilypaw nibbled the tip of her claw as she speculated. She couldn't travel with them anymore. She could sneak away now, and by the time Violet and Thyme woke she'd be long gone. Lilypaw sighed. She couldn't do that. Violet couldn't protect Thyme on her own. She couldn't leave them, though she'd have to once she reached the hills. She hated the idea, but she hated the idea of letting WindClan die more. Lilypaw shook her head and glanced up at the forever dark sky. The moon was a shiny sliver, shedding nearly no light on the ground below. Oh, Crash, Lilypaw thought, grief clenching her heart. Whu in the name of StarClan didn't I try to save you? I need you so much. Lilypaw tucked her tail over her nose, falling asleep with the image of Crash's smile in her mind. Chapter Seven Lilypaw's eyes flew open as a screech sounded from below. She stared down wildly, trying to see what was wrong, and to her dismay fell out of her branch. She bounced off two limbs before hitting the ground with an oof! Lilypaw struggled to her paws and gaped. An auburn wolf, the same one her and Violet had run into days ago, had Thyme by the neck and was shaking her viciously. Berry was still in the nest, wailing with terror, and Violet was clinging to the wolf's pelt and clawing it with yowls of anger. Lilypaw threw herself at the wolf's face, struggling not to injure Thyme, and clawed the wolf's nose and eyes with enough force to make blood spray her pelt. The wolf screamed and dropped Thyme, who slumped to the ground in a pile of bloody tabby fur. Lilypaw and Violet took turns diving towards the wolf and landing a blow to its legs, or flanks, or head, or back, and twisting away before they could get injured. Frustrated, the wolf howled and turned tail, racing off. Lilypaw padded back to where Thyme lay, shaking, blood pulsing from her throat and belly. Lilypaw could tell the life was ebbing from her quickly. Her throat caught. She sat down and stroked Thyme's tabby fur gently with one paw. Violet was trying to calm the crying Berry. "B-Berry," Thyme croaked, trying to sit up. Lilypaw gently pushed her back down. "Sh's fine," Lilypaw whispered, her chest tightening. "We won't let her get hurt." Thyme sighed peacefully, and with the last bit of energy she had, turned her head so she could see her daughter. The light faded from her eyes. Lilypaw sighed heavily and padded back to Violet. "She's gone," She murmured, sitting next to Crash's sister. Violet's eyes darkened. "What'll we do with Berry?" She whispered, touching the tabby kit with one paw. Lilypaw stared deep into Violet's eyes. "I need to leave you, Violet. It's time for us to fo seperate ways. Take Berry back to the Meeting Pond. Someone will take her." Violet's eyes grew round, but she nodded. "I'm going to miss you, but you need to do what you need to do." Lilypaw gulped. "Goodbye, Violet." She touched noses with the she-cat, choked with how much she looked like Crash. She turned and dashed off into the forest. She ran away from all the grief and didn't stop until the trees thinned out, revealing the hills beyond. Epilouge Violet dropped Berry for the billionth time at a she-cat's paws. This one was Sunshine, a ginger-and-white she-cat who'd lost her brother to the wolves days ago. "Will you take her?" She asked in exhaustion, sitting down. Sunshine took one look at Berry and shook her head. "Gracious, no. i can't care for a kit." She turned and trotted off, waving her tail in farewell. Violet sighed in defeat. She'd asked every she-cat here. No one could take Berry. She stared down at the tabby kitten and sighed. She'd have to care for her. Violet grabbed Berry by the scruff and carried her off into the forest. She hadn't seen her brother at all, which surprised her. Crush never missed a meeting at the Pond. Violet curled up at the base of a tree, letting Berry cuddle into her belly. She stared down at the pitiful scrap of tabby fur, with liquid blue eyes. She sighed and licked her between the ears. Berry squeaked happily and burrowed deeper into Violet's black fur. Violet had never given much though to being a mother. She'd always lived on her own with Crush, no time to meet a tom and settle down. But now, all of a sudden, she had a daughter. She smiled. "I think I'll give you a new name," Violet murmured, stroking the kits soft tabby fur. "I think I'll call you Lily." The newly named kitten squeaked. Violet purred and licked the kit gently until she fell asleep. "Lily," Violet whispered again, falling asleep herself. Category:Fan Fictions